The Enemy of My Enemy? Pt. 2/Chapter 05
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Perhaps it was because he was more alert than usual, but the tunnels seemed quieter somehow. Kylan felt uneasy about returning to the same electronics warehouse that had almost cost him his life a couple of days earlier. But according to Stan, the data that he retrieved from the M-67 after he had first examined her included valuable information about the layout of The Surface. This was before Stan reprogrammed her for Kylan. She had also contained all the police procedures and codes that gave access to many of the government frequencies and databases. She also had codes to override them.
They learned that since the police androids were so near the explosion at the subway entrance, the official assumption was that they had remained buried in the rubble. There would be no investigation or efforts to retrieve them. As far as the wymyn were concerned, those were just two more androids that could easily be replaced or done without. The warehouse security records yielded nothing useful so the weapons fire was reported as computer error. The wymyn loved blaming the machines and finding fault with them.
The walk to the remains of the subway entrance was uneventful, but there was still the matter of finding another way to The Surface. The answer was a service stairwell with locks and hinges that had been frozen with the passage of time. A portable cutting torch made slow work of the door. One of the Girls could have easily broken it down or tore it from its hinges but none of them had joined the scouting party.
The team had turned out to be larger than Kylan expected. He was happy so many scouts came since Stan’s shopping list had some heavy items on it, but it would have been much easier if some Girls came too.
The entire area surrounding the warehouse was heavy with static airwaves so that no transmission could penetrate. According to the police data, the A.I. that controled the facility itself was programmed not to be android-friendly unless prior authorization was given by the wymyn. It was still operating on old orders involving terrorist threat, so all the communications were done with it by secure hardwire. Only one human womyn could approach the building initially and she could not have any electronic devices. This included recognition chips, weapons and tools.
Kylan’s shoulder-length blonde hair had allowed him to approach before, but the sensitive detection equipment had quickly recognized him as a man and opened fire. His height and hair were also a factor in the official assumption of the fate of the police droids because they nearly matched that of Aura’s former patrol partner.
This time Lori was with them and she wasn’t thrilled about being the one who had to “knock on the door,” so to speak. It was late afternoon when the party, at long last, surfaced. They had spent the day preparing for the raid with the help of the information hacked from government databanks. They now knew the inventory of the huge warehouse and where to find what they needed. Lori memorized the codes to gain access and to remove items. The male scouts would have to pretend to be her assistants. Replicating phony identification cards with old magnetic strips was no problem for Stan. He still had equipment from the mobile labs and was able to encrypt the cards with all the necessary access information -- among other things such as viruses.
On a mission this big, Frances Stanley would normally not want to miss all the fun, but he didn’t join the team. A bit too easily, he said that Kye and Lori were more than capable of dealing with any problems that might happen, although his technical expertise would have been a welcome reassurance. And since transmissions were not possible, Kye could only wonder what was so important that neither Stan nor Portia would be there for them. And why none of the Girls could join them at least this far.
Stan and Portia were there for them, but “there” was in another part of the city. Unknown to the residents of The Lounge, Phillip Gaines Jr. had a message for Stan: Someone had destroyed all of his father’s research and Phil wanted it back. No humans would be harmed, but unescorted androids would be destroyed. He wanted to meet with Stan alone to talk and he wanted answers. Other than a time and location following the discovery of the fallen police droids, there was nothing else to the message.
This left Stan worried, but he still had tremendous guilt consuming him so he felt a responsibility to everyone at The Lounge. But he also had always cared for Phil Jr. No one else knew of Stan’s role in The Great Mistake other than Portia, Kylan and the members of the original research and development team. That is, if any were still alive. Stan hoped that the data he brought to their meeting would be enough for the troubled young man and that Portia would not be seen as a threat. She was not happy with his decision to meet with Phil so she insisted on coming. As a precaution, she disabled her automated human-like responses and reactions to hide her advanced nature. She would behave as she did the last time that she met him when he was boy.
Phil was not offended that she came. The meeting place was at an abandoned construction site that had a strategic view of any approach from above or below. Stan was obviously nervous when he entered the exposed area, but Portia followed him faithfully with a vacant smile on her face. She pretended not to notice when a small triangular head peeked out at them from a nearby door. Phil soon walked out hesitantly and was talking quietly to himself while looking first at Portia and then at Stan before glancing quickly around the area and then back at them.
“Uncle Franky,” he said as if he was holding back a laugh, “I-I didn’t think you’d come because I thought you were dead too, but she told me she saw you. That’s what she said.” He looked at Portia and continued talking, though he was beginning to shake, “But I know it’s really you because there’s pretty-pretty Portia. Auntie Portia, you always look like a goddess who walked out of a comic book.”
Portia was wearing a plain blouse, jeans and tennis shoes, but her rich red hair shone like fire under the open sunlight. She was the first to speak to Phil Jr. “Why thank you, sir,” she said in a very overly pleasant, yet detached demeanor. “You look different, Phillip. Bigger. You are very handsome.” He was actually a bit short and frail.
Stan was trying to absorb the sad condition that Phil was in, but he was happy to see him none the less, “You look good, Phil. I’ve missed you… and your dad.”
Phil seemed as if was both laughing and crying when he hugged Stan. Portia wanted to comfort them but instead remained standing slightly rigid, her eyes wide and a phony smile on her face. Stan felt some relief coming over him but he remained worried about the purpose of their reunion, “Who’s the girl you were talking about, Phil? How does she know about me?”
Phil pulled away from Frances Stanley with an air of anxiety in his eyes, “I saw her, Uncle Franky. I came back here and I saw her, only she was somebody else.” He was beginning to ramble, but stopped to look around again.
“WHO?” Stan stressed.
“Shhh-shhh,” Phil was motioning wildly, “Let’s talk inside; my Mom is looking for me.” He ran into the room that he had appeared from and Stan tried to hurry behind him but was unable to move forward.
Portia was holding him back from behind by his belt. “One of those monsters is in there,” she spoke quietly and clearly through a frozen smile. “And my sensors have been tracking another one that has been following us for the last mile and a half.”
“Then we can’t turn back now,” Stan muttered so low that only Portia’s super sensitive hearing could pick it up.
“I know,” she whispered, “Just be careful, Precious.” She let go of his belt and patted his butt to nudge him forward but stayed close behind him.
“Phil!” Stan called out, contemplating his next move with the unpredictable young man. “I’m afraid,” he decided to be direct with him out of respect for their history and to gain his trust. “I know about the robot that you used to stop the police. I don’t want it to hurt Portia.”
Phil peeked out from the doorway and was quickly waving for them to enter and urging for silence. They were beginning to share his paranoia and proceeded into the lair. There was no turning back.
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